Shinae Chun
Shinae Chun was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 15th Director of the Women's Bureau. Serving under Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Ms. Chun is President Bush's highest ranking Korean American appointee and heads the only Federal agency charged with advocating on behalf of women in the workforce. During her tenure she has transformed the way the Women's Bureau does business by implementing innovative demonstration projects, increasing partnerships, and enhancing the Bureau's visibility.
In 1991, Governor James Edgar appointed her Director of the Illinois Department of Labor, a position she held until 1999. Two years prior to this appointment, she made Illinois history when Governor James R. Thompson appointed her Director of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions, making her Illinois' first ever Asian American cabinet member. In 1984, Governor Thompson appointed her Special Assistant to the Governor on Asian American Affairs, the first such position in the country. Ms. Chun completed her undergraduate degree at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea, and her Master's degree in Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She has received the ATHENA International "International ATHENA Award"; the Northwestern University "Alumni Merit Award"; the Southern Women in Public Service "Pacesetter Award"; and the Asian American Coalition of Chicago "Excellence in Public Service Award." She is the author of From the Mountains of Masan to the Land of Lincoln (1996).